Last night while we were enjoying beers and basking in the post-finals glow at the Varsity Club, one of my friends pointed out that we were officially “one year down” in the WPMBA program. I’ve thought about that before, but for some reason, hearing him say it made it real. I survived four whole quarters!

Now, notice that I don’t say I’m “halfway done” – because I’m not. The program will take me ~2.5 years to complete, which means I am not quite halfway there. But hitting the year mark is really something. That’s one year of four hours, two nights a week, for 40+ weeks. And during all that time, I’ve learned some things along the way that are worth passing along:

You get used to the schedule, but it never gets easy

It’s OK to occasionally (ok, more like rarely) skip class in favor of a beer with your friends – or a night with your couch

Always bring a sweater to class – the rooms are cold!

Packing your dinner takes away the stress of having to stop somewhere on the way

Work in groups as much as possible – it makes doing homework much more fun, and you might learn more than you would on your own (I know I do)

It takes some time to establish your group of friends, but once you do, the program takes on a new level of fun

Don’t obsess about grades like you may have in undergrad. Grad school is all about learning, and getting an B doesn’t mean you didn’t learn